Category: Dena Schlosser

Dena Schlosser, mom who cut off baby’s arms, moving to outpatient care

Dena Schlosser Dena Schlosser, the Plano mother who killed her baby by cutting off her arms, will soon be a free woman.

State District Judge Chris Oldner on Thursday ordered that Ms. Schlosser be released from Rusk State Hospital to continue her treatment as an outpatient.

“She’s gotten away from a relationship and a church that were bad for her, and she’s fought hard to regain her mental equilibrium.”

Texas Mom Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

McKinney, Texas (AP) — A mother charged with murder for cutting off her baby daughter’s arms in what her lawyers portrayed as a religious frenzy was found not guilty by reason of insanity Friday by a judge. Dena Schlosser, 38, will be sent to a state mental hospital and held until she is no longer deemed a threat to herself or others. “My own expectation is that she will remain at the hospital for many, many years,” defense attorney David Haynes said. Police arrested Schlosser in 2004 after she told a 911 operator she had severed her baby’s arms. Officers

Tumor may have affected Schlosser

Doctors: Growth in brain a possible factor in baby’s killing Doctors say Dena Schlosser has a brain tumor that might have caused hallucinations that motivated her to kill her 10-month-old daughter by cutting off her arms. After a hearing Friday in which Ms. Schlosser waived her right to a jury trial, her attorney, David Haynes, said the tumor was first detected in an MRI in March 2005 at North Texas State Hospital in Vernon – four months after the killing. But Mr. Haynes said that she was returned to the Collin County Jail before hospital doctors could follow up, and

Series of failures doomed baby

It was no secret that Dena Schlosser suffered from postpartum psychosis. So why wasn’t Maggie saved? Editor’s note: Last week, prosecutors sought a second capital murder trial for Dena Schlosser. The first trial ended in a mistrial Feb. 25 after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision on whether the Plano mother was not guilty by reason of insanity. This story is culled from facts and descriptions from interviews and testimony from the first trial. This story contains graphic details. Plano police Officer Mike Letzelter was there at the beginning and the end of 10-month-old Maggie Schlosser’s life. Maggie was

Pretrial hearing for Schlosser postponed

McKINNEY – A pretrial hearing in the Dena Schlosser capital murder case set for Wednesday was postponed until next week. The hearing, which was delayed because of a trial in the same court, is likely to determine whether Ms. Schlosser’s second trial will be heard by a judge or jury. The hearing is now scheduled for March 23, said Leigh Hornsby, a Collin County spokeswoman. Collin County District Attorney John Roach said he wants state District Judge Chris Oldner to decide the verdict in the second trial instead of a jury. But whether a jury hears the case is up

Plano woman faces second murder trial

DA wants judge to hear case in which Schlosser severed daughter’s arms Dena Schlosser will face a second trial in the death of her 10-month-old daughter, the Collin County district attorney said Monday. District Attorney John Roach said prosecutors would ask state District Judge Chris Oldner at a pre-trial hearing Wednesday to decide the case instead of a jury. It will be up to Ms. Schlosser whether a jury would hear her case. The Plano mother’s capital murder trial ended in a mistrial last month when jurors deadlocked at 10-2 in favor of not guilty by reason of insanity. “The

Mistrial declared in murder case

Mistrial declared after 1 juror says he won’t change mind on guilt McKINNEY – Dena Schlosser‘s capital murder trial ended in a hung jury Saturday, with one juror firmly against 10 others who had concluded she was not guilty by reason of insanity and one panelist who would not decide. State District Judge Chris Oldner declared the mistrial about 5:45 p.m., after jurors said for the third time that they were hopelessly deadlocked. Jurors said the man who voted guilty refused to participate in deliberations. They deliberated more than 40 hours over four days to decide whether Ms. Schlosser was

Deadlocked Schlosser jury sequestered

Panel seeks to clarify its role, reviews husband’s testimony McKINNEY – Jurors in the Dena Schlosser capital murder trial were sequestered Friday night after failing to reach a verdict in nearly 35 hours of deliberations. Collin County sheriff’s deputies delivered suitcases to the jurors, who will reconvene at 9 a.m. today. Jurors have been in a deadlock since Wednesday, when deliberations began to decide whether Ms. Schlosser is guilty of capital murder in the slaying of her baby. The panel sent two more notes to the judge Friday in what appeared to be another attempt to reach a verdict. Just

Jury deliberating in Schlosser trial

The jury began deliberations just after noon today in the capital murder trial of the Plano mother accused of killing her 10-month-old daughter by cutting off her arms at the shoulders. In closing arguments, prosecutors told the jury of five women and seven men that psychiatrists who testified Dena Schlosser was insane made up their minds before ever examining her. They said the crime was so horrible, the psychiatrists, like many people, already believed that only someone not in her right mind would kill a baby by severing her arms at the shoulders. Defense attorney David Haynes told jurors that

Woman didn’t know right from wrong in baby’s death, doctor says

A woman didn’t know right from wrong when she fatally cut off her 10-month-old baby’s arms and wasn’t getting the mental help she needed leading up to the killing, a psychiatrist testified in her capital murder trial Tuesday. People close to Dena Schlosser also missed obvious signs of severe mental illness, Dr. William Reid told the jury of five women and seven men. Reid was to be questioned by prosecutors Tuesday afternoon. “Everything I’ve seen indicates to me that she did not know what she was doing was wrong and she did not know right from wrong,” said Reid, the